15-Pound Tasmanian Giant Crab Finds New Home

Written By macky on Monday, May 7, 2012 | 3:01 AM

A Tasmanian Giant Crab recently made waves, simply by being.

Weighing 15 pounds, Claude, the crab in question, would’ve made a meal to remember for a seafood aficionado who happened to come by his/her favorite seafood specialty restaurant, but thankfully, that’s one memory Claude won’t get to inspire.

Caught by an Australian fisherman, Claude’s fate was decided for the better when his captor opted to bring him to a British aquarium.

Now a resident of the SeaLife Center in Dorset, England, Claude would’ve been the source of a worthy crab cake feast, resulting to yield an estimated 160 crab cakes.

With his enclosure now open for public viewing, Claude spent two weeks in getting comfortable with is new environment, which was preceded by a 29 hour plane trip to the SeaLife Center.

Roughly, Claude is measured to be 100 times larger than the average UK Crab, and as an added “gawk value credit” to Claude, he’s far from done growing. At the “human juvenile” equivalent age, Claude is forecasted to continue growing to almost double his current weight.

He’s that big a crab.

Tasmanian Giant Crabs, as their name would already say a lot about them, are known for their giant sizes and physique. They are also known as the “Queen Crab” or simply “Deep Sea Giant Crab”, with records revealing that they can grow up to 29 pounds, 18 inches in width.

As commercial fishing catches, their fishing is highly regulated in Australia, following regulations updated with sustainability concerns in 2004.

If you’ve ever wondered how big a giant crab looks, Claude at the SeaLife Center has a lot to show you.